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-750,000 in Rwanda (Free verse) by ALChemy

See how the Tutsi sleep dead in heaps and still they lie there where they die. Too many for the census takers, calculators, estimators. Too many for the senses to take. Hear our silence serenade the merciless raid. The order's called. The triggers pulled. The flash, the bang, the flesh explodes. and in the air the smell still hangs of a rotting sweetness in churches and streets. wreaking our futures bleakness Touch the ground unsettled ground desecration abound There are more bodies than bullet shells stabbing children snapping thier necks. Save the bullets for mom and dad. Kids are easier to kill.

ALChemy 11-Jun-05/6:15 AM
Heaps does mean both and is meant to mean both. They were both in piles and scattered around and they were just left there were ever they may have died. most of the heaps were in buildings were they scrambled for safety while being shot. Although they may have been put into piles much later. This poem is transporting you back in time closer to the actual event. not talking in hindsight. I will repeat DURING the killings the people reporting the death toll couldn't keep up. The title reads like a headline to help put you closer to the moment. It's as if you were taking a tour of Rwanda just days after. I did if you remember concede to the "fire brigade" line and even plan on changing it although I don't know if it's entirely untrue. It was something I forgot to change earlier on and I am humbled and embarrassed by it. Thanks for bringing it up again. And as far as Literal Truth. Aside from maybe the "Fire Brigade" everything else is true if it's interpreted correctly but I understand that not everybody reads the same poem the same way. That's just a risk I choose to take. I hope your not reading this the wrong way because your input has helped me tremendously with this poem and I hope that help extends to further postings that I may put up. Thank you my fellow American.




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